Silver Lies (64 page)

First of all, there really is a Leadville, Colorado. You can drive there and experience it for yourself. Quick directions: go up I-70 from Denver into the Rockies, take a left at Copper Mountain, and follow the signs.

My intention was to use Leadville’s history as a framework on which to hang my story. As such, I strove to portray the general feel and milieu of the times. As Stephen Voynick notes in his book
Leadville: A Miner’s Epic
, "Leadville took her birth from the gold mines, her fame and fortune from the silver mines…." In April 1860, gold was discovered in California Gulch of the Arkansas Valley. By June, 4,000 men had arrived, staking 400 separate claims. By 1863, the gold rush was essentially over. Yet another, bigger one lay ahead.

In 1875, the heavy black sands that clogged the hydraulic equipment for extracting gold were discovered to be lead carbonate with silver. Enough silver to be interesting, even enriching. In 1877, the silver strikes began, and ordinary folks realized something extraordinary was going on in this Colorado mining camp up at ten thousand feet in the mountains. In 1878, the rush gained momentum and fortunes were being pulled from Fryer, Carbonate, and Iron Hills in the mining district.

A census in early 1879, about the time Leadville became incorporated as a city, shows a population of just over 5,000. By the end of the year, the city claimed a population of 20,000, a mine production of ten million dollars and an infrastructure that included a hospital, a water system, a police force, a fire department, a local telephone company, a gas company, and a post office. The railroad had yet to arrive in in this high mountain city, and all goods, from books to flour to diamond-dust mirrors, had to be freighted in by wagon at great expense. In addition, the law of "supply and demand" was in full operation as was speculation in real estate. Lots on Harrison Avenue that were twenty-five feet fronting the street and half a block in depth were selling for five to six thousand dollars, compared to two hundred dollars a mere year before. Saloons were plentiful (although only three women in the 1880 census laid claim to the occupation of saloon keeper or bartender, compared to 228 men).

I’ve alluded to certain real events, including the vigilante hanging of Edwin Frodsham, leader of a lot-jumping gang, and Patrick Stewart, a footpad, on November 20, 1879, the same day as the opening of the Tabor Opera House. As for the characters in
Silver Lies
, they are either fictitious or treated fictitiously. Among the true-to-life who saunter through the pages are Mattie Silks, who did indeed own parlor houses in Denver, Georgetown, and other Colorado venues, and Bat Masterson, who, although he probably didn’t put in an appearance quite so early in 1880, by all accounts did come through this gambling mecca more than once. The Silver Queen is entirely fictional, although I set it up kitty-corner to a very real one, Wyman’s Place, and appropriated Wyman’s rules of the house.

Thousands of pages have been written about "Cloud City," as Leadville has been called, and its people. Those interested in learning more might try Edward Blair’s
Leadville: Colorado’s Magic City
or (for heavy hitters) Don and Jean Griswold’s two-volume
History of Leadville and Lake County, Colorado
.

Regarding Leadville’s miners and mining history, there’s Stephen Voynick’s
Leadville: A Miner’s Epic
. For women’s voices describing life in the mining camps and towns, I recommend Mary Hallock Foote’s
A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West
and Harriet Fish Backus’
Tomboy Bride
. Malinda Jenkins’
Gambler’s Wife
provides an interesting look at the life of an intrepid businesswoman and wife of a "sportin’ man."

And yes, there really was a "Breakfast Bullets" column in the Leadville
Chronicle
.

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